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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: rock · bat · bulb · fan · clip · game · race · squash

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. bulb — for light
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. bat — the animal
  6. race — a contest
  7. game — a match
  8. clip — to cut
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. race — humankind
  12. game — wild animals
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. bulb — for light
  15. squash — to crush
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. clip — a video
  18. rock — music
  19. clip — for paper
  20. race — the arms race
  21. squash — the sport
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. rock — a stone
  24. fan — to cool the air

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com